Postal card



No. 620,423. Patented mi 28, I899. D. W.- GUSTEB.

POSTAL CARD. 7 (Applicaflon and July is, 1898.) (No Model.)

WITNESSES INVENTOR m: NORfiIS runs 00,, mom-min, WASNINOTON. m c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DiVIGHT W. OUSTER, OF PROOTORVILLE, OHIO.

POSTAL CARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 620,423, dated February 28, 1899.

Application filed July 26, 1898. Serial No. 686,947. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DWIGHT W. OUSTER, a resident of Procto'rville, in the county of Lawrence and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Postal Cards and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in postal advertising-cards, the object of the invention being to provide a card that can be folded and securely fastened together without sealing and which will be neat in appearance, cheap to manufacture, and compact and remain securely folded during transportation through the mails and which can be transmitted as mail-matter.

With these objects in view' the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view showing the card before folding, and Fig. 2 is a view of the card when folded and fastened together. Fig. 3 is a view in section.

A represents a strip of paper of any approved thickness, (preferably about the thickness of a postal card,) and is folded, as shown at 2, 3, and 4, or in as many folds as may be desired. One section of the strip above the fold 2 is adapted to presentthe appearance of an ordinary postal card and is reserved for an address and the necessary postage-stamp. This portion of the strip is provided near the end of the strip with slits 5, as-shown, which are adapted to receive tongues 6, (which may be wedge-shaped or other desired shap'e,) cut from the section between the folds 2 and 3, whereby when the card is folded,-as shown in Fig. 2, the tongues serve to securelyhold the various sections of the card or strip in folded position.

It will be readily seen from the above description that when the card is folded and the tongues 6 are slid into the slits 5 the only strain the foldedcard will receive will have the tendency to bulge the card, or, in other words, to press the opposite folds toward each other, and this will tend to force the tongues 6 farther into the slits and hence not permit the unfolding of the card, as is the case with the cards heretofore made.

My improved card is adapted to receive advertising matter on one or both sides, and hence permit the user a great amount of advertising-space at a small cost.

Various slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I would -have it understood that I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v 1. A postal device consisting of a strip comprising several sections adapted to be folded one upon another, said strip having a slit at one end and a tongue out from an intermediate section of the strip at a point between the sides of the strip and normally constituting a part of the writing or printing surface 130- fore the device is folded, said tongue being adapted to enter said slit when the sections of the device are folded, one upon another,

. substantially as set forth.

2. A foldable postal device having a slit at one end and a tongue out from the body of the strip, said tongue being integral with the strip at the point of folding between two sections thereof, whereby, when the strip is folded, the tongue will be automatically projected outwardly and adapted to enter said slit.

3. A postal device consisting of a strip comprising a series of sections adapted to be folded one upon another, said strip having slits at one end in proximity to its longitudinal edges, and tongues located intermediate of the ends of the strip and constituting part of the writing or printing surface, said tongues being located near the longitudinal edges of the strip and adapted to project from the strip at the point of folding between two sections and to enter said slits, substantially as set forth.

.In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DWIGHT W. (DUSTER. Witnesses:

J. HENRY CARTER, THOMAS W. Rosn. 

